A recent survey of 400 refugee girls at the age of 10-19 in Lebanon showed that 70% of them feel frighten traveling during the day by themselves, whereas 90% of them reported that they feel unsafe at night. These young girls talked about how men are attacking them, and how they fear being raped.
“We’re afraid [to go out alone]. There are always drunk men who harass us and even the ones who aren’t drunk harass us,” said an 18 year old refugee from Burj al-Barajneh, in Beirut suburbs.
Parents are forcing their daughters marry young, because of poverty and concerns for their daughters’ safety. Child marriage is four times higher for Syrian refugees than it was for Syrian girls before the war. Many young girls marry to financially support their single mothers.
However, these young girls are still hopeful for their futures. They want to continue their education; become lawyers, teachers, and doctors; and support the next generation of women.
Media Resources: Aljazeera 06/18/2019, United Nations Population Fund, 01/31/2017, Feminist Newswire 06/30/2016
